Sunday, December 12, 2010

You may know or not know the importance of this but it is worth a read . . .

http:// & https:// - Do YOU Know The Difference ?

Once in a while, there is something that comes down the pike that is of real importance.

What is the difference between http:// and https:// ?

Don't know how many of you are aware of this difference, but it is worth knowing . . .

***The main difference between http:// and https:// is it's all about keeping you secure***

HTTP stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol

The S stands for "Secure" (big surprise).

If you visit a website or web page, and look at the address in the web browser, it will likely begin with the following:

http://

This means that the website is talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecured language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with the website. If you fill out a form on the website, someone might see the information you send to that site.

This is why you NEVER EVER enter your credit card number onto anhttp://website!

But if the web address begins with

https://

that basically means your computer is talking to the website in a secure code that no one can eavesdrop on.

You understand why this is so important, right?

If a website ever asks you to enter your credit card information, you should automatically look to see if the web address begins with https://

If it doesn't, you should NEVER enter sensitive information . . . such as a credit card number, SSN# etc.